All posts by G. Gordon Gritty

CD Review, Music, reviews, Thee Oh Sees

Album Review: Putrifiers II (Thee Oh Sees)

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Band: Thee Oh Sees
Release: September 18, 2012
Label: In The Red

Comments: Thirteen albums deep, Thee Oh Sees made me think: just what will their next album sound like? If there were any indications before we got to preview some of the songs, it was that this was not a full band album. It was primarily written by John Dwyer in the role of multi-instrumental captain with help from long-time engineer Chris Woodhouse (drums) and Mikal Cronin (sax) just to name two. Dwyer’s done this before; actually, just last year with Castlemania. I love Castlemania’s wildly psychedelic moments and distinctive tape production. With the longest song clocking in at 3 minutes and 20 seconds, that record stands in contrast to the full band’s lengthy inclinations on Carrion Crawler/The Dream. With Putrifiers II, it sounds like Dwyer is interested in trying some new things, but with a keen remembrance of past successes. On the opener, “Wax Face,” I think of Carrion Crawler/The Dream, with its buzzing bass-line, fast pace, and array of effects for Dwyer’s guitar playing. The one thing that stands out on this track and stays that way for the rest of the album is Dwyer’s vocals. Dwyer doesn’t seem to be straining himself too much, just letting melodies stand as most distinct and the vocals as a creepy, yet squeaky clean and well-mixed after-thought. “Hang A Picture” is more Castlemania than Carrion, thanks to that acoustic guitar that Dwyer likes to bring out on record sometimes. It’s also easy to get lost in the sea of instrumentation. You might miss some horns if you aren’t paying attention. The fuzz sounds like a synthesizer, maybe it is, maybe it is.  “So Nice” is a stand-out track for me. “Remember a day when fat kids got high? A light twisted sky enlightening me.” With a Velvet Underground styling (eastern influence and all — is that a viola?), this song marches along, sounding much briefer than its near 4 minutes. Ya wouldn’t know this on record though with “Cloud #1” serving as a continuation/instrumental. “Flood’s New Light” – which has just made the online media rounds, receiving very high praise – seems to channel the supreme energies that resulted in Help, the 2009 release that had some “ba-ba-ba-ba-ba” hooks to its own credit! You might even stop and think, ‘wait is that King Khan and the Shrines?’ at the beginning. I did. By “Putrifiers II,” Dwyer’s talent becomes abundantly clear. He makes some strange music (with some strange titles and some strange album art), but can so easily craft an identifiable pop gem, which I’d say this title track is. The flute and saxophone parts toward the close of the track are superb additions and slightly surprising – I wasn’t sure if Dwyer would break out into a full-out jam or some experimentally savvy finish or something of that nature. “Will We Be Scared” has me thinking Atlas Sound in more ways than one: 1) vocals (namely!) and 2) that old timer chord progression. Still, though, “Will” is distinctively Oh Sees, credit some extra psychedelic moments and choice picking. If I could see the band perform any of these Putrifiers II live, I’d bet “Lupine Dominus” would be one of them. It’s as ‘complete’ as they come on this record. It surprises me when it ends. “Goodbye Baby” is an odd-duck, culled from a long line of brief ’60s pop songs. “Wicked Park” is much the same way, but is just about a perfect closer. That acoustic guitar makes a comeback and for me I imagine Dwyer just strumming along on someone’s abandoned back porch. Just fun loving stuff that might serve as a nightcap to bizarre entertainment. With Putrifiers II, I feel like there will be a new breed of listeners that are just starting to get into Thee Oh Sees, perhaps because they caught them live after going to a show with a friend or saw the name on some high capacity music site. I sure hope they take this album for what it is — a few left and right turns within a familiar framework of past work. Great, awesome, cool, whatever, I feel it’s necessary to end this review with the mindset of how it started. What will #15 sound like? Not that it matters because I sense this will be getting many spins throughout the fall.

Top Three Tracks:
(1) Putrifiers II
(2) Will We Be Scared
(3) Flood’s New Light

Fat History Month, Local Music, Music, PUJOL, SARALEE

TT The Bears Show Alerts: Saralee/Fat History Month & Pujol

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Next Wednesday August 22, local KLYAM faves Saralee and Fat History Month will be playing a show together along with Arvid Noe opening for Caddywhompus @ TT The Bears. The show starts at 9 PM!

Two months from today (October 14) Pujol, who I’ve been wanting to see for a couple of years now, will also be playing at TTs. Openers and starting time to be determined!

Film, Jay Reatard, Music

Better Than Something Boston Screenings!

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Been eagerly waiting for this announcement for a year! Better Than Something is screening at the Museum of Fine Arts:

August 30, 2012, 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm
August 31, 2012, 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm
September 1, 2012, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
September 2, 2012, 1:10 pm – 2:40 pm

Better Than Something by Alex Hammond and Ian Markiewicz (2012, 83 min.). Controversial and prolific garage rock icon Jay Reatard released more than 60 records in his 10-year-career as a solo artist and with bands like The Lost Sounds, Final Solutions, and Angry Angles. Eloquently interweaving interviews with friends, rare concert footage, and scenes from a candid week spent with Jay, this intimate portrait—shot only months before his death—brings us incredibly close to Jay’s complicated punk-rock world.  Discussion with directors follows the August 31 screening.

Link to MFA: http://www.mfa.org/search/programs/Better%20than%20something

Colleen Green, interviews, Tours

Check Out The Dodgy Exclusive Interview W/ Colleen Green

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Well-written and highly informative. I didn’t know Colleen had ties to UMASS Lowell (a college that comes up a lot in KLYAM lit), but now I do! Read here!

Colleen is playing Middle East Upstairs on September 9 with Bent Shapes, Plateaus, and Bugs and Rats. Before and after that date she is playing several shows:

8/24 – San Diego, CA @ Tower Bar
8/25 – Tucson, AZ @ Plush
8/26 – Las Cruces, NM @ The Trainyard
8/27 – Lubbock, TX @ Glassy Alley
8/28 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk (inside)
8/29 – Dallas, TX @ Bryan St Tavern
8/31 – Atlanta, GA @ 529
9/1 – Durham, NC @ The Pinhook
9/2 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar (upstairs)
9/4 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
9/5 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
9/7 – Brooklyn, NY @ 285 Kent
9/8 – Storrs, CT @ University of CT
9/9 – Boston, MA @ Middle East (upstairs)
9/10- Lowell, MA @ unchARTed
9/11 – Buffalo, NY @ Ninth Ward
9/12 – Cleveland, OH @ Happy Dog
9/13 – Columbus, OH @ Cafe Bourbon Street
9/14 – Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub
9/15 – Louisville, KY @ TBA
9/16 – Lafayette, IN @ Black Sparrow
9/18 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
9/19 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
9/20 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
9/21 – Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge
9/22 – Denver, CO @ Lion’s Lair
9/23 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
9/25 – Missoula, MT @ Zoo City
9/26 – Seattle, WA @ Comet Tavern
9/27 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
9/28 – San Francisco, CA @ Thee Parkside
9/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ TBA

Lists, Music

Bands/Songs That Still Hold Up (#-A-B-C)

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Sometimes it sucks to move onto something new. A vague statement that is — but think about it. Usually it means you lost or neglected something of the past. In the case of music libraries, I’ll never completely know what I listened to prior to December 2009, when I bought a new laptop and dragged a very tiny amount of music from the old computer. Still though, December 2009 is sort of long ago (for a young person like myself) so here are tunes/bands that I probably haven’t posted on KLYAM:

The 1990s – “See You At The Lights” – I remember getting into this during my Dandy Warhols/’garage rock revival’ kick back in 2007. It’s still really catchy power-pop. I was more of a songs guy in those days so it doesn’t really surprise me that this is the only song that I’ve listened to by the band.

The Apples In Stereo – “Go” – I never knew this came out in 2000. I would have thought mid-2000s. It is an eccentric track that might have subliminally contributed to my liking of similarly weird stuff, but it’s this extremely pop song that is overflowing with hooks while being a little corny. That’s part of the charm, though. I dug deeper into this band’s discography recently, but didn’t find anything really like “Go”. Maybe I didn’t dig deep enough.

The Avalanches – “Electricity” – I do have a bit of a sweet spot for some dance music, but this is in no way traditional dance music. The samples are incredible, giving this song a bit of an urban/hip-hop feel. I remember thinking about trashing this song to save up on space, but now I’m so glad I kept it.

Babyshambles – Like with a lot of bands I love, I arrived late to the party. I got into The Libertines a few years after their demise and it took me several months of hardcore fandom to give the side projects an honest look. Pete Doherty wrote some killer songs in Babyshambles: “Killamangiro,” “Fuck Forever,” “Pipedown” to name a few. I think I have to give this man a lot of credit for getting me into more ‘punk’ pop, eventually paving my ears to say Jay Reatard who was totally punk-minded albeit in a totally different way.

Bishop Allen – “Middle Management” – I remember hearing this for the first time on MLB 2k7 and being happy behind belief. It was cool to learn that these guys took their name from a street that we would eventually take on-route to seeing some damn great shows at the Middle East, but the song itself exemplified exactly what I was into in the spring of 2007. Quirky, melodic, power pop jams. I remember thinking to myself, how come these guys are virtual unknowns while a band like The Click Five is getting the time of day? There are some other tunes by Bishop Allen that I’d recommend like “Ghosts Are Good Company” and “Things Are What You Make Of Them” if you dig stuff by The Lovely Feathers or Adam Green.

Bubba Sparxxx – “Back In The Mud” – If I remember correctly, I first thought this song was off Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, which is one of the few hip-hop albums I’ve ever purchased. This song is pretty straight forward, but Sparxxx’s quick fire delivery on the verses and the guitars/fuzz make this ‘not your average joe’ rap song.

Cat Power – I can’t say I’m a committed/knowledgable Cat Power listener. I’ve only heard a handful of her songs, but there was something about her voice/songwriting that struck a chord with me upon discovery. Nowadays, I can’t really imagine myself getting into her kind of music, but then again I’m sure if I hear something as striking as “Nude As The News” or “I Don’t Blame You” I’d have to take that back.

The Concretes – “You Can’t Hurry Love“ – I realized upon hearing Peter Bjorn and John’s Writer’s Block that there might be some other Swedish bands that I could enjoy. Indeed. There was The Shout Out Louds, Jens Lekman, and low and behold The Concretes. This jangle is a pop masterpiece.

Crystal Castles  – I’m guessing I got into this band around the time that I heard “Electricity” given how they are very much alike. A song like “Courtship Dating” is as if The Yeah Yeah Yeahs devoted themselves to electronica while “Vanished” is just full of hooky synths. I know CC has some albums out, but as weird as it sounds, I think I felt a little guilty listening to Crystal Castles while simultaneously getting big into rock and roll bands like No Age so I limited myself to a few songs. They’ve got another album coming so maybe when that gets released, I’ll give CC the fresh look that they probably deserve.

C